About 10 years ago, my skeptic mind was put to the test and my life changed. It was around 1997 when my colleague (Jen) and I went to Southampton, England for an art exhibition that was being held. Bear in mind, neither of us had been to this part of England before.
On the first evening we went down to the hotel bar quite late for some cigarettes and were pleasantly surprised to see the two staff drinking after finishing their shifts. Jen asked if we could have a drink and then we joined in their conversation. They were saying the hotel was haunted, so she suggested they hold a séance.
“All right then,” one of the barmen said. “We could set up a Ouija game. There’s a Scrabble set behind the bar, we could use the letters,” he suggested looking around at his colleague. His friend just half grinned but agreed.
The barman, who I shall call Mark (but cannot remember his name), set out the letters in a circle shape, then he positioned the words YES and NO either side of an upturned wine glass. The four of us then placed a finger on it and began our game. I looked around nervously at the others as Mark asked the usual “Is anybody there?” Before long, I began to experience a strange looming sensation, and I felt something was about to happen… I don’t know how, I just knew.
Then the glass began to circle the inside ring of letters. Suddenly, my heart began to hammer against my chest as I met Jen’s eyes glaring back at mine. I looked back at the glass. “Who are you?” I asked. The glass moved with ease to its chosen letters: HERMIN SMYTHE was spelled. The other barman who I shall call Geoff, accused Mark of moving it, which made him cross and he got up from the table. I asked whatever was in the glass to prove it was really working, and it immediately spelt out a word: GOSS. Geoff took a sharp breath. “That’s my surname,” he said and stood up. Suddenly, he gave us a wild look and pointed. “Look!” he yelled. “It’s spelling out my name again!” A paralyzing coldness poured through me. I had never felt this frightened in all my life, and because I didn’t know what I was scared of, only made it worse.
Suddenly, I asked, “Is there a God?” The glass almost glided as it kept going in a figure eight shape. Then it began to crash into the letters sending them to the floor. This is when we parted company.
A few weeks later, something occurred that I can only put down to messing with the Ouija. I felt restless on this particular evening and stayed up quite late into the early hours of the morning. Eventually I decided to take myself off to bed. On entering the bedroom, I bent over the bed to climb in when suddenly something struck me hard in the back. The wind immediately burst from my lungs and my body hit the bed like a lead weight. I sensed instantly the strike was not from a human and I lay wheezing and unable to scream. I just waited. I then began raising myself up — it hit again. Much harder this time.
I had no time to think. I only sensed evil. Slowly I turned my head to face whatever it was. What would I see? My mind whirled. Too late — it lunged again, deeper now, inside me. I began to think I was about to be possessed or even die.
“Please, God, help me!’ I cried out. Immediately I felt what can only be described as a pulling sensation and then I collapsed onto the bed — safe… it had gone. An overwhelming presence of good remained in the room for around a minute and I knew without any doubt, my prayer had saved me. Fear left me and as I lay. The answer to my question (at the séance, a few months earlier), “Is there a God?” had been answered. I’ve never stopped believing since. Please leave Ouija boards ALONE.
Written by Jackie Stevens, Copyright 2008